[on creating Black Swan (2010)] It was a very hard film to make and I ended up making everyone’s commitment to stay on it longer and longer. Every time we had a push because the money fell apart, or whatever, the hardest conversation I would have was with Natalie [Portman] because I knew it meant carrot sticks and almonds for another 3 months for her and she was not going to be happy.

[on how he chooses visual style that suits each story] It’s probably because I’m Godless. And so I’ve had to make my God, and my God is narrative filmmaking, which is — ultimately what my God becomes, which is what my mantra becomes, is the theme.